Those who follow The Lord will inherit the Land – part 1

Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.

Joshua 14:12

As Joshua was dividing the land among the tribes of Israel, Caleb approached Joshua and reminded him how Moses had promised to give him the land of Hebron because he had completely followed the Lord.

The story of Caleb teaches us a number of important lessons about what it takes for us to inherit the Promised Land:

1. We must have a heart of faith concerning the promises of God

When Caleb and the rest of the 12 came back from spying the land, Caleb brought back a good report that they were able to take on the giants and to possess the land that God had promised them. Caleb “brought back word to him as it was in his heart” (Joshua 14:7). We must therefore have a heart of faith concerning the promises of God. We develop this heart of faith when we regularly read and meditate on the Word of God and listen to messages that will build up our faith. When we feast on the Word of God it will reflect in what we say:

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Luke 6:45 (NLT)

2. The land where our feet treads shall be ours

Moses had told Caleb that the land where his feet had trodden shall be his inheritance and his children forever because he had completely followed the Lord. Likewise when we follow the Lord, every land where our feet shall tread shall be ours:

I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.

Joshua 1:3 (NIV)

3. We must demand the mountain

As humans we naturally want comfort and will do anything to avoid pain and hardship however this was not the attitude of Caleb. At the age of 85 years he was asking for the mountain. This teaches us that we should not settle for the valleys or the comfort zone because it doesn’t allow us to grow. When Abraham asked Lot to choose which part of the land he wanted, Lot settled for the valley, and look at what happened to Sodom and Gomorra?. We must reach out to the higher things in God:

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.

Joshua 14:12

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to follow You with my whole heart so that I too will inherit the Land in Jesus name.

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Do you want everything to go well for you?

Our Scripture this week tells us what to do if we want everything to go well for us and our children:

Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 12:28

In this scripture Moses was telling the children of Israel before they entered the promise land, the things that they must do if they wanted things to go well for them and their children.

These words also apply to us as followers of Jesus Christ, because God doesn’t change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

As we are on our spiritual journey to our promise land, there are things that we must do if we want things to go well for us and our children. They are:

1. Observe the Words of God – to observe means to keep, to watch and to preserve the Word of God. This is basically telling us to take a keen interest in the Bible which is described as the Word of Life (Philippians 2:16) because when you read and confess it, it literally transforms you and brings to life areas that were previously dead. For example your faith may be weak however you can increase your faith by reading the Word of God: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17);
2. Obey the Word of God – to obey the Word means to do what the Word of God says. We are encouraged to be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22);
3. Do what is good in the sight of God– goodness is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). If you see your brother or sister in need, you should be eager to help them out of the goodness of your heart. The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 shows that we ought to be good to people who are in need whether or not we know them;
4. Do what is right in the sight of God – to do what is right in the sight of God is to do what God’s Word says. The Bible says that there is a way that seems right unto a man but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). We may do things to try to please other people however the Bible tells us not to be men pleasers (Ephesians 6:6) because it is God who will judge us and not man (Isaiah 33:22).

When you are reading and confessing the Word, and doing what is good and right in the sight of God, it may seem temporarily painful because you are not doing what your natural inclination may tell you, however if you will hold on, the Word tells us that it will go well for you and your children after you.

Just think, when you are living for God, you are heaping up blessings for you and your children. Remember, God is the faithful God, and He keeps covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9).

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